NEW YORK: Porter Novelli has acquired reputation consulting firm Hilburg & Associates to form PNConsulting, a new division designed to advise boards of directors, CEOs, general counsel, CFOs, and other senior-level executives on effective organizational behaviors.
The North American branch of change-management consultancy Smythe Dorward Lambert - which is owned by PN parent Omnicom - will join up with PN staffers to complete the make-up of the new division.
Primarily, PNConsulting will focus on risk management, litigation, crisis management, strategic philanthropy, corporate brand strategies, and change management - areas thought to pose the greatest threats to management and shareholder value.
Alan Hilburg, president and CEO, will lead the new group and report to PN CEO Helen Ostrowski.
"I frequently had been approached by agencies over the past five or six years," explained Hilburg, "but the chemistry was never quite right until now." Citing intellectual and creative compatibility, Hilburg said the decision to team up with PN was a result of high-visibility clients requiring in-depth attention paid to communications issues.
In addition to expanding client offerings, Ostrowski noted that the formation of PNConsulting makes the agency's services more "business oriented."
